A Rant

So, I'm a little peeved, and that usually means I write. When things get me riled up, I usually find that writing my thoughts down helps me settle down. That, unfortunately, means you all are in for a rant. Begin rant:
I hate it when people use the name of God to harm and manipulate others. I hate when people slap the name of God on something that is no more God than I am a blue alien. Why is it so hard for Christians to admit the truth about things that are wrong? Why is it that we feel compelled to defend that which is clearly evil. Why do we have to insist on clinging to something that is bad, telling ourselves that it really is good. I am so sick of hearing the logic "It's not all bad. There really is some good to it." There may be "some good" to it but that doesn't make it right or worthy of you hanging on to it. Don't tell me about the heritage it has, or the merits it had in the past. Chicken left out of the refrigerator for 2 days may have been good chicken at some earlier point, but that doesn't mean it's not rotten now. Do you really want to hang it up in your house as a testament of what it used to be? No! Get rid of it before it smells up your entire house and makes you sick. It's the same with our lives. Too many people are running around holding on to a past that is full of failures and bad mistakes, and instead of just letting it go and starting over they keep living in it and even try to put God's name on it.
I had someone tell me the other day that they were going to hang on to their heritage and fight for their legacy. The heritage and legacy they were referring to is wrapped up in some of the most horrendous abuses of power and mistreatment of human beings known to man; yet, they want to hold on to the "good" in it. I'm sorry, but, there is no good that's worth holding onto. It's just as though this person was standing outside a home that has burnt to the ground, one which before it burnt down was filled with every sort of pest and vermin known to man. Now that person is frantically digging through the rubble trying to find something of value in this house to justify their desire to live there. That's crazy! Right?! Yet, I'm watching it happen in the lives of several people I know. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, "WAKE UP!!! There is nothing left there for you! Start over and build a new house that is beautiful and comfortable, that doesn't reek of uncleanliness and isn't filled with horrible memories." How I wish these people could see that they don't have to hold on to the past to ensure they have a heritage. They could start today to build a new heritage; and my guess is the one they start building today will be a whole lot more powerful a heritage than anything they are holding onto from the past. Yet, no matter how simple it seems to me, if they don't come to that conclusion, they will continue in this behavior. It's enough to make me crazy sometimes!
End rant.